Randi with an i

Live at the Riv: Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness with flor and Grizfolk

March 4, 2019 Randi

So, back in January I started getting a little stir-crazy.

If you’re from the Midwest, you know what I’m talking about.

Winter here is all fine and well through, like, mid-January. Then the despair sets in and you start to get real sick of your four walls and the aroma of your Crockpot.

I hit that point back in January and found myself thinking about how badly I needed to do something to get out of my apartment.

Enter: Concerts!

I went a little crazy with the ticket purchasing and ended up dropping money on four March shows within, like, a two-hour period.

My bank account hated me at the time, but now everything’s been paid off and I get to reap the rewards!

And you get to reap the shitty iPhone photos and #content. Aren’t you glad you’re following along?!

First up: Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness with flor and Grizfolk!

What I packed: An extended weekend in Tulum, Mexico

March 3, 2019 Randi

Sometimes I’m a little wary about writing up these little packing posts because I often find myself thinking “Randi, nobody actually gives a shit what you brought.”

But then I realize that I personally Google “packing for [insert_destination_here]” ALL THE TIME, and also I’m always looking for new ways to economize my luggage — especially because I’m a light packer and I usually try to carry a single backpack with me on my trips.

Tulum, Mexico

February 26, 2019 Randi

Hola! I am sunburnt as all hell and I think I gained at least 10 pounds bc TACOS but I’m back in (cold, rainy and dreary) Chicago after an extended weekend in Tulum, Mexico!

Life lately

January 3, 2019 Randi

Helloooo! I lied when I told you I wasn’t going to wait like, half a year to post a little life update.

I mentioned it a little earlier this week, but blogging hasn’t really been a priority of mine lately. And to be even more honest? That’s OK by me. I’ve kind of been feeling this way for a while, so I’ve come around to accepting it’s not a mood or a phase. When I started blogging years and years ago, my blog was a creative outlet; kind of like a public-facing diary but waaayyy less embarrassing than my actual diary. (Yes, I still keep one of those!)

Now the blogosphere is a smorgasbord of ads, paid product placements, affiliate links, etc. — and it’s kind of like… where do I fit into all that? Do I fit into all of that? Do I want to?

I’ve decided… I don’t care. I’m not keeping a list of page view targets or post goals or whatever. I’m going to post what I want when I want. I’ll still include affiliate links cause let’s be honest, I’m broke AF. (I’ll just be transparent about them ’cause I always will be.)

So, anyway! Here we are. “Organic” posting. Which brings me to… today’s little life update that should have been posted six months ago, whoops.

So this is the new year.

January 1, 2019 Randi

2018 was a weird year.

Three ‘taboo’ things I did by myself in the past few weeks

November 8, 2018 Randi

The older I get, the fewer friends I seem to have.

OK, that’s not entirely true. I have tons of friends — but most of them are in LTRs, or are married, or have kids, or have moved away, etc. So, as a single 29-year-old, making plans to go to a concert or take a vacation or go to dinner is no longer as simple as polling my roommates to figure out who’s doing what for spring break, or walking across the street to ask my neighbors whether they’re down to go to a music festival with me in two days.

The only real chances I have to get together with friends take loads of planning. Like, yunno, weddings and bachelorette parties and whatnot. Finding friends who are free for international vacays, last-minute concerts, out-of-town weddings? It’s practically impossible.

I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few years not doing the things I really wanted to do because I was afraid of doing them alone. I’ve passed up concerts, weekend trips, street festivals — you name it. I spent years turning down the things I really wanted to do because I was so afraid of doing them by myself.

Hello 29 and hallo Germany

October 21, 2018 Randi

Guten Tag and hallo! I’m sleep deprived AF and am currently typing this on my phone from a seat on a budget airline flight somewhere between Berlin and Chicago!

I’ve got a preeettty bad (good?) habit of buying super cheap flights for super short trips months in advance with the “oh I’ll figure it out later” mentality. So, when I was surfing Skyscanner three months ago and landed on a $320 round-trip flight from ORD to SFX on my birthday week? No brainer. I packed my single backpack (#nobaggagefees), left Chicago at about midnight this past Tuesday, arrived in Berlin Wednesday afternoon, and landed back at O’Hare really late Saturday night — just in time for my 6 a.m. Sunday shift at the Trib. Perk: My trip only cost me a single vacation day.

Happy birthday to me, right?

How I get my manicures to last a week

September 24, 2018 Randi

So, this is a post I’ve been meaning to do for a while.

I get asked — a lot, actually — how I do my nails since I pretty much always have them done. I worked at a bar throughout college, and health codes don’t allow for nail polish usage in the food service industry. So, all through college, I couldn’t ever paint my nails. If I did, it was for a two-day span and then the polish had to come right back off for my shift. Long-lasting manicures weren’t really necessary.

Once I graduated college and got fired from my bar job (long story), I started painting my nails again. I was a reporter so I always had my notebook and pen out in front of me, and had a lot of attention on my hands. I started making more of an effort to keep my nails polished. I started getting acrylics done right after college, but didn’t like the feel of them, and thought they looked a little too high-maintenance. Plus, they were expensive! I started painting my own nails instead. And, after a few years of trail-and-error, I finally figured out what products work and what don’t.

Here’s my step-by-step.

How I afford to travel

June 26, 2018 Randi

OK guys, ready? This is a post I’ve been asked to write multiple times. I’ve been putting it off because I wasn’t really sure how to write it without sounding like a privileged and/or condescending asshole, but people keep asking me this question, and I really do want to answer it.

The question? “Randi, how do you afford to travel?!”